Team talk

In their second session together, award-winning coach Kim Morgan helps her client Shelley* defuse tension and take tentative steps towards a more positive workplace

- Kim Morgan

Session two...

When Shelley's aunt died recently, she had left her online gift business to her niece. It had come as a shock and a surprise to Shelley, and she still didn't know whether it was a blessing or a curse. She had asked me to coach her, to help her come to terms with the challenge of becoming an 'accidental' business owner. This was being made even more difficult by the hostility of the employees in the business towards Shelley. I had agreed to run a coaching session for the whole team, and Shelley had chosen a beautiful venue for the session, to convey a message to the team that she valued them.

I arrived at the venue early and set up the room with flipcharts, pens, journals, and picture coaching cards.

The four team members arrived together - Val, Vicky, Sophie, and Janice*. I greeted them all - but only Sophie smiled.

Val looked around the room and scoffed, 'What's this, playschool?'

Vicky sniggered.

Their reactions didn't faze me, I knew in advance that this was going to be a tough gig! Shelley arrived, trying hard to be positive, but the tension in the room was already palpable.

I have learned that when there is a ticking timebomb of emotions in the room, the best course of action is to acknowledge the feelings and facilitate a 'controlled explosion'.

I asked everyone to choose a picture card that represented how they were feeling about the new situation. After more eye-rolling from Val and Vicky, everyone eventually chose a card.

Sophie showed her picture - an artist with a blank canvas: "This is an exciting opportunity for us to paint a new picture of the business together.'

Vicky chose some closed theatre curtains. 'It's curtains for us and the business,' she said. Janice's card was an open book: 'I don't know what the next chapter will be.